Former Labour Member of the Greater London Assembly

Standing with the people of AFRIN

Last weekend we saw the Kurds of London on the streets of London protesting against the incursion of the Turkish into Afrin, as they stand in solidarity with the people of Afrin and said no to war. This had the feel of when the Tamils of London went out on to the streets as the Sri Lankan army tried to push the Tamils into the Indian Ocean around 5 years ago.

Jeremy Corbyn, a regular over the years at such mass protests was not able to make it but sent the following statement:

“I send my solidarity to the Kurdish people of Syria and all over the world facing attacks on them as a people and on their identity.

What is urgently needed in Syria is a ceasefire, de-escalation and a negotiated political solution, which must include the Kurdish people, not further escalation and interventions in a conflict that has already led to huge numbers of deaths and refugees.

Multiple interventions by outside powers in the Syrian war have increased the suffering and destruction and intensified tensions in the region and must end.

Turkey’s air and ground assault in the Afrin region is already causing civilian casualties, including among refugees who have fled other parts of Syria.

The British government has failed to consistently oppose foreign interventions in Syria and is itself involved in the US led bombing campaign.

We have a moral obligation instead to throw our weight behind pressure for a lasting peace and political settlement in Syria, including the withdrawal of all foreign forces engaged in the conflict. ”

Unfortunately Turkey under Erdoğan is hell bent to pursue this military intervention into Syria, so we will rightly see more protests against their actions by the Kurds of London in the coming months.